More than 90% of product manufacturers do not see digitalisation as a ‘major concern’
Most construction product manufacturers are still not meeting post-Grenfell regulatory requirements to digitise product information, according to new research.
A Construction Leadership Council (CLC) survey found 92% of manufacturers do not see digitisation as a major concern and more than half “see no need to digitise”.
The report defines digitisation as connecting all sources of information in a business, from operations, marketing and logistics to upstream and downstream supply chain data, to provide a reliable source of information which can be shared with the supply chain.
It is a key part of the Building Safety Act and guidance on the golden thread principle outlined by Judith Hackitt in her landmark review of building regulations conducted in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
But the report found the digitisation “message” is not filtering through to construction product manufacturers, especially SMEs who make up the majority of the sector.
Phone interviews with 80 leaders of product manufacturing firms found 85% still provided product information largely via pdf or hard copy only and only 8% have ever made or commissioned a BIM object.
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Just over half of respondents felt they were digitised to some extent, but even when provided with the definition of digitisation, few of the respondents fully grasped and understood what it meant in practice.
Those that scored themselves highly on the digitisation scale appeared to assume that it simply meant using computers or having online systems and processes, the report said.
While 80% of those interviewed understood the importance of digitisation, only a handful considered it a priority, according to Atkins Réalis UK and Ireland president Richard Robinson.
Robinson added: “We also found that digital transformation journeys are fragmented, and our investment into digital is sometimes misplaced due to a poor understanding of what is possible and what it means to digitalise.”
The report also found that the need that manufacturers will have for external consultancy in an “environment of such ignorance” is a potential vulnerability and a risk of exploitation, with SMEs particularly at risk.
In a series of recommendations, the CLC called for the government to be a “catalyst for change” by putting in place a specific requirement for manufacturers to digitise.
The group also suggested that any initiative to provide a requirement to digitise should start with “priority products” and require manufacturers to provide information they already have.
It said this could include providing compliance information from their Declaration of Performance (DoP) or Conformity (DoC) in electronic format to a database or portal which could be used to research products.
The report was authored by Rick Hartwig, former built environment lead, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Su Butcher, director at Just Practising Limited, Paul Surin, head of digital and IT at TROJENA and Patricia Massey, digital and technology manager at BEAMA.
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